Before the chip

Last night my recently-installed crown — a fancy word for a tooth cap that helps restore its shape and strength — chipped.

Before I noticed the chip, I felt totally fine: relaxed and ready to wind down for bed.

After I noticed the chip, it was a complete shift: I became mildly frustrated and anxious about how much time and money may be required to fix it.

It’s impressive how a piece of information can upset the balance of things.

As I laid down to try to rest later that evening, it occurred to me: if it’s possible for me to feel so different after discovering the chip, shouldn’t it also be possible for me to return to who I was before I discovering it?

After all — all the positive things that were true before remained true after: I’m still in a safe home, in a comfy bed. I still have a sense of purpose, and I have friends and family that I can rely on.

My attention has been briefly diverted away from these things towards a flurry of worries; it simply needs to be redirected back.

Sam Harris offered some timely advice for moments like these in his app Waking Up earlier today:

“If you’re not mindful, you might spend much of your day feeling like you’re fleeing a burning building or swimming to dry land after a shipwreck. All your thoughts about the past or the future are just thoughts.”

When a storm of thoughts about a frustrating situation arises, a powerful way to disarm it is to take a few deep breaths, scan the room around you, and realize that the building is, in fact, not burning.